Method of closing metal drums



METHOD OF CLOSING METAL DRUMS Filed March '7, 19se- A 2 5 0 I a! E 6; 26 14 f? I 53 INVENTOR:

-GEJORGE5 BROUHON ATTORNQVS 25. or broken in order toopen the head and they Patented May is, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Solvay & Ole, Belgium Application 4Glaims.

This invention relates to sheet metal drums .or barrels oi the open head type, having a removable head or lid adapted to be secured thereto by a channel band which fits around'the edges of the drum and of the head.- It is known to clamp such a band in position by means of a ring the ends 01' which are pulled in order to force the band against the edge of the drum and to draw its ends together so that they may be assembled by means of lugs, by a covering strip or the like. In this way, however, perfect tightness cannot be attained, as owingtto its rigidity the ring cannot lie on the band closely enough to allow of its ends being drawn together to the maximum extent; when the band is of channel cross-section in order to embrace a curled or 9. rolled edge of the drum, the ring tends to flatten the band and to reduce its hold; furthermore the usual assembling means give rise, while being placed in position, to a slight slackening in the tension of the band, owing to the necessity of bending lugs or introducing rivets or parts which are engaged only after a slight relative motion of the ends to be assembled. Then also, with these systems the band or the covering strip have to be torn cannot be used afterwards.

The objects of the present invention are to remove these inconveniences, to provide a method and means for closing open head drums and barrels that will provide a better and a permanent clamping of the closure, and to make it possible .to remove the head without destroyingthe parts of the closure so that the closure may be used over again as many times as desired. This invention relates more particularly to drums or barrels with a rolled or curled top edge, a flanged head and a channel closure and in accordance therewith the closureband is clamped into position by means of a roller chain which engages it on both sides of its largest diameter and draws its ends together, whereupon the saidends are assembled without slackening the tension, by rivets' and a covering strip selected in an assortment of strips having diflerent, predetermined distances between their holes.

It is essential, for clamping the chain, that the pull on the ends thereof be exerted tangentially to theperiphery of the drum. whatever be its diameter. It is also an object of my invention to attain this result, which I obtain by using a clamping tool with pivoted arms adapted to be drawn together by ball shaped nuts. The jaws of this tool are shaped so as to seize the ends of the band without deforming them, and draw them Belgium, a company of March 7, 1936, Serial No. 67,698 In Belgium March 14, 1935 towards each other while the chain forces the hand against the drum. One of the Jaws has a fastening for attaching the chain to the corresponding arm of the tool, whereby the chain can be quickly fitted in position.

The use of a roller chain not only gives a better clamping of the band, but the chain ilts the exact shape of the band and it tends to increase its transverse'curvature, thus improving its sealing eflect, conversely to the action of a flat band that would tend to'flatten the band. The maximum clamping effect thus obtainable can be maintained, without slackening, by introducing rivets in holes provided in the ends of the band and in registering holes of a covering strip which is chosen so that its holes will exactly coincide with those of the band. To that end I prepare beforehand an assortment of channelled strips corresponding to the cross-section oi the band, and having holes at slightly difierent distances so as to suit the diflerent distances between the holes in the ends of the bands, such difierences being unavoidable in'practice owing to allowance in manufacturing, or to deformation or stretching of the bands in use.

With this system I am enabled to use indeflnitely the bands andeven the covering strips,

when I use rivets adapted to be easily removed or cut. Owing to their channel section these strips are both very rigid and strong i Even when the band is tightly clamped around the flange of the head, and the rolled edge of the drum, it could happen that a very strong blow or thrust on the head might cause the flange oi the head to slip from. under the band and escape from between the band and the edge of the drum. It is a further object of my invention to avoid such risk by providing on the flange of the head a sealing bead, and in the band a cooperating groove, so that the flange'of the head is held in engagement with the band owing to the considerview on line 11-11 Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view on line VV of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 shows, also on an enlarged scale, a jaw or the clamping tool.

Figs?! and 8 are diagrammatic sectional views respectively illustrating two forms of closure bands and head flanges.

Fig. 9 shows the positioning of a covering strip.

Referring'to Figs. 1, 2 and 5, I is the body of the drum, 2 the head, and 3 the closure band of semi-circular crosssection which embraces the rolled edge 4 of the drum and the curved flange 5 of the head.

In order to clamp the band 3 on the drum, I surround it with a roller chain 6' which is provided, at intervals, with wire hooks 1 whereby it is supported from the flange 5, the ends or the chain being secured by bolts 8 to the jaws 9 of a clamping tool placed on the head, where the hand must be closed. The jaws 9 are secured to theends of arms I pivoted at I! to a crosspiece II. In the arms it are cylindrical recesses i3, closed at the top by covers I4 and in said recesses are accommodated spherical nuts l5 threaded on a screw it provided with opposite threads. To move the arms l0 towards each other the screw it is rotated by a pawl and ratchet device comprising a ratchet wheel I! keyed centrally of the double screw, and pawls l8 actuated by levers l9.

when the arms I! are moved-towards each other about their respective pivots Ii, they exert onthechainapullinadirectionwhichissubstantially tangential to the periphery of the drum, and remains tangential as the movement progresses, owing to the fact that one of the arms has a slot 20 in which its pivot II is loosely engaged. Thus the necessary radial component which tends to pull the end of the chain against the band, is never sufllcient to stop the end of the band from moving along the periphery. of the flange during the clamping, and no deformation can take place.

Each jaw 9 has the shape of a short channel piece curved according to the curvature of the band and internally provided with small teeth 2| (Fig. 65. These curved jaws distribute the pulling stress on a larger surface of the band, avoid deforming same, and they grip and pull the ends or the band while it is clamped by thechain.

The jaws 3 are held by each a'stirrup piece 22 secured to the end or one of the arms II, a cross bolt 3 extending at right angles to the jaw across the piece 22 for attachment of the corresponding end of the chain 6 (Fig. 3). By passing this bolt through a link of the chain, the length of chain tobeusedcanbefittedtothediameterofthe drum,'the surplus length hanging down. Se

curedtothestirruppieceisiapinflflttedina boreinthearm ll;whichpinactsbothasapivot for the jaw to enable it to fit properly against the band, and as a connecting piece with the arm ll.

One of the jaw holders is adapted to be readily detached from the clamping device. To that end the arm I! to which it is secured has a notched end, the pin 24 of the fitting being engaged in the notch 25 (Fig. 4) which is formed at the top with a circular recess 26 in which fits a head 21 secured to the end of pin 2.. when the head 21 is turned through 90 it holds firmly the jaw fitting in the notch, whereas if it is turned back axially of the notch, it releases the holder and allows of easily. disconnecting the chain from the clamping device. with these arrangements, the pull exerted on chain 3 produces a uniform clamping action around the whole periphery of the band 3, that is near its ends 3' as well as on the other side of the drum. Moreover as the chain is very strong and does not stretch to a substantial degree, it can be clamped with a force that could not be exerted under normal conditions without breaking the chain. It is also seen (Fig. 5) -that tne chain grips the band both above and below its largest diameter, so that it tends to accentuate its transverse curvature and to increase its hold on the edges of the head and of the drum.

Thetwo ends of the band are pierced with holes 28 (Fig. 9) in which rivets 28 are inserted. After the band has been tightened, I place on the adjacent ends 3' a covering strip 30 having holes 3| coinciding with the holes 28 and tubular rivetheads 32 are hammered on the rivets 29 to fasten the covering strip. I preparebeforehand an assortment of cover strips having their holes 3| at distances varying, for example. by,l mm. from each other, so'that I always am able to flnda strip fitting exactly the distance between the holes 28 of the band, and there is no need to release the hold of the band at any-time.

A comparison between Figs. '7 and 8 shows that in the case of a head with a .thin flange as illustrated in '7, this flange can escape from under the band 3 as shown in dotted lines at 5', if the head 2 isviolently forced in. By providing a peripheral head 33 at the edge of the flange adapted to be engaged in a groove 34 in the band 3 (Fig. 4) I obtain a hold which cannot be released. The head 33 may be strengthened by a wire 35 to prevent its being flattened. With grooved bands of this type, I useco'ver strips of corresponding shape.

Riveted cover strips, as described, are very economical, as the only parts to be broken in order to open the drum are the rivets which cost very little, whereas the band and the cover strip are ready to be used over again.

Of course the invention is not limited to the particularshapes and constructional details described and illustrated by way of example, and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

said band, seizing said band along two peripheral circles respectively above and below its largest diameter, drawing together the ends of said band while simultaneously exerting a tightening pull on said hand along said two peripheral circles, and then securing said ends together while still exerting said pull on said band.

' 2. In a process for clodng drums of the open headtype having a drum body with a rolled edge, a head with a flange fitting on said edge, and a flexible band or channel cross-section surrounding said edge and flange, gripping the ends of said band, exerting on said band a tightening pull at a number of points uniformly distributed over a- 3.Inaprocesstorclosingdmms6ftheopen head type having a drum body with a rolled edge, a head with a flange fitting on sai edge, and a. flexible band of channel cross-section surrounding said edge and flange, surrounding said band with a flexible auxiliary member engaging said band above and below its largest diameter, grip.- ping separately the ends of said band and the ends of said auxiliary member,-exerting a strong tangential pull on the ends of said auxiliary member thus tightening it and exerting a radial pressure over substantially the whole length of said band, simultaneouslydrawing together the ends of said band, securing said ends together, and then only releasing the pull exerted on said auxiliary member.

4. In a process for closing drums of the open head type having a drum body with a rolled edge, a head with a flange fitting on said edge, and a flexible band of channel cross-section surrounding said edge and flange, surrounding said band with a flexible auxiliary member engaging said band along two peripheral circles respectively above and below its largest diameter, gripping separately the-ends of said band and the ends of said auxiliary member, tightening said auxiliary member by a tangential pull thus pressing said band tightly around said edge and flange both longitudinally and transversely, simultaneously drawing together the ends of said band, and securing together the ends of said band while still exerting a pull on said auxiliary member.

, GEORGES BROUHON. 

